Cromwell, 2 others jailed for CPV plant protest

Friday

Jul 14, 2017 at 8:10 PMJul 14, 2017 at 8:10 PM

Richard J. Bayne Times Herald-Record @RichardBayne845

SLATE HILL — In their last hours of freedom before reporting for a week in jail, actor James Cromwell and two other members of the so-called “Wawayanda Six,” arrested in December 2015 for blocking access to the CPV power plant site on Route 6, were hailed by fellow environmentalists Friday at a send-off rally in front of the plant.

Before the three arrived, about 100 demonstrators formed a line in front of the Competitive Power Ventures gas-fired plant, which is under construction and has been the target of protesters for years. Then Cromwell, Madeline Shaw of Slate Hill and Pramilla Malick of Westtown addressed the crowd from the bed of a pickup truck.

“So this is what it took to get you out here, huh,” Malick said. “Giving up seven days of my life.”

“We are the spark that’s starting the flame,” said Cromwell, who lives in Warwick. “People are galvanized by what we’re doing.”

Protesters contend that emissions from the $900 million plant, which CPV wants to bring online next year, would harm the local environment and accelerate climate change. Opponents have often pointed to charges involving a former CPV senior vice president, accused of conspiring to pay about $287,000 in bribes to a former executive deputy secretary to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The "Wawayanda Six" were arrested Dec. 18, 2015. Police had to remove an interlocking device they had placed around their necks. They were found guilty June 7 and each was ordered to pay a $375 fine. Three of the six paid the fines, but Cromwell, Malick and Shaw refused, so they were ordered to report to Orange County Jail at 4 p.m. Friday.

Cromwell, 77, said he decided not to pay the fine because he didn’t want to glorify a judgment he considered “unjust and stupid.” “I wouldn't give them 10 cents,” he said.

Shaw, who declined to give her age, said she wouldn't have been able to live with herself if she paid the fine and skipped jail. "I'd have to cover up every mirror in my house,” she said. Shaw, who lives about two miles from the plant, said she would have to move once the plant goes online because she’s sensitive to chemicals.

“This entire project was built on bribery and corruption,” said Malick, 53, who called the plant the “head of a snake” that would emit dangerous emissions and operate on fracked gas, transmitted by miles of pipes.

After the two-hour protest and rally, Cromwell, Malick and Shaw hopped into a red Honda, and their supporters formed a caravan to escort them to the Orange County Jail in Goshen.